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| Posted by: Ashley Cottrell |
| Posted at: Tue, Oct 23, 2007 - 07:02:49 |
| This is the best news. I know it is long overdue. Your patience and love for God has brought you to where you are now. We are so happy for you. |
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| Posted by: Patty |
| Posted at: Tue, Oct 23, 2007 - 07:02:32 |
Kelly and Travis,
I am sitting here with tears in my eyes--of course tears of joy! I am so happy for the 3 of you and am hoping life will be so much easier for you when you have your little one at home where he belongs. If you need any extra hands don't hesitate to ask!
Meanwhile, I'll be looking forward to the day when you bring little Bennett in to meet all his friends at Winston!
Take care of each other!
Love,
Patty |
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| Posted by: The Taylors |
| Posted at: Tue, Oct 23, 2007 - 07:02:28 |
This is a bit of a long story, but it's worth a read. It has elements of your story, particularly in how the couple inspires others.
Consider this comment from the writer: "If you even remotely know me personally, you know I’m not a 'Touched by an Angel' type of guy. Never have been; never will be. Yet, speaking with Denny about the arduous recovery of his wife and then the birth of Joe, at just 1.5 pounds, I felt like something bigger than you and I must be working in the cosmos."
Against All Odds: Two Miracles in One Lifetime
By Dan Sousa
LoudounPrepSports.com Editor
Leesburg (Oct, 15, 2007) - Denny Petrella and his generous “Team Joe” support group set out to raise between $5,000 and $10,000 for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Inova Fairfax Hospital for Children with a golf tournament a week ago and of course, in befitting Denny fashion, they exceeded their expectations beyond the wildest imagination, raising $25,000.
“Little Joe owes each and every one of you a hug for all you did to help us raise this money,” said Petrella after the event. “You’re all life-long members of Team Joe.”
In order to be a true member of Team Joe you have to believe in miracles and angels and all of that soul-deep stuff that truly exceeds expectations beyond the wildest imagination.
I cover sports for a living and we often misnomer the walk-off home run or crazy comeback as a miracle and the “big game” is often put in “life and death” terms, but in our hearts of hearts we know that isn’t true.
It’s just sports … and there are people every day from Leesburg to Iraq experiencing “life and death” situations and some are even confronted by what you would call a miracle.
Denny Petrella experienced it twice, first with the survival 18 years ago of Gen Cummings, his high school sweetheart and young wife, from a near-fatal auto accident and then in the birth of Joe, a child that at one point wasn’t thought possible and had to defy all odds to survive.
“They are my two miracles,” said Denny.
If you even remotely know me personally, you know I’m not a “Touched by an Angel” type of guy. Never have been; never will be. Yet, speaking with Denny about the arduous recovery of his wife and then the birth of Joe, at just 1.5 pounds, I felt like something bigger than you and I must be working in the cosmos.
For starters, Denny is just naturally the type of guy who is called “the Sports Santa Clause” by some booster clubs as he has helped out more sports programs and local athletes than could ever be counted. His Loudoun-based Cheers Sports is a feel-good story on its own.
Denny not only supports every good sports cause to come along, but he does so with such a low-profile that most in Loudoun have no clue what he looks like.
When Denny contacted me about the incredible survival of his son Joe, born premature at INOVA Fairfax Hospital last year, and the charity golf tournament he hosted at Westpark, I couldn’t pass up the chance to finally meet Denny face-to-face.
I thought I knew Denny’s story but I had no idea. If you don’t believe in miracles … well you can stop reading right now.
For Denny to truly let me know what a miracle baby Joe is for his wife Genevieve and him … he had to tell me Gen’s story and the tragic night on a rain-slickened road in 1989 in Fairfax County when a head-on collision did enough damage to Denny’s high school steady from Park View, that her Last Rites were read not once, but twice to her.
I say tragic because that is how you or I would look at things, but there is a special character in the very fabric of Denny’s DNA that allows him to face tasks that seem insurmountable with an uncommon positive outlook.
It may go back to when Denny and his younger brother Ron, the Heritage High School Athletic Director, were young, just age 4 and 3. Their father was a police officer killed in the line of duty, yet their mother was not about to let her boys wallow in self-pity.
“She never let us have that ‘woe is me’ attitude’,” recalls Ron. “When we were boys we either had to be studying, working or playing outside.”
So the Petrella philosophy was simply “always look for the positive in life.” That included any hand dealt you and so Denny briefly asked Ron that night in 1989 as his wife of just nine months lay in a coma, what should he do?
And Ron’s advice was to talk to her and don’t give up, no matter how dire the doctor’s reports were and Denny did that … never wavering in his faith that his wife would come out of the coma.
The first doctor Denny spoke with told him that his wife had only an hour to live. That hour came and passed and the next doctor said that she might make it until the morning.
And in the morning she fought and Gen did make it, but with a severe head trauma that required her to be hospitalized for 234 days and left her with years of therapy ahead.
Gone was the athletic track and field champion from Park View and Denny and Gen started a new life … one in which her memory was affected enough by the injury that she and Denny had to watch a tape of their wedding so she could be convinced that they were really married and it was a life that had her working each day to gain a small piece of her former life back.
Denny says that in the circles of head trauma medicine his wife is a “rock star” as she accomplished more of a comeback than could ever be expected. Her spirit to fight was something that medical journals can not tabulate.
“In the world of head injury Gen is one of the most famous survivors,” said Denny.
And Denny’s role in this was to quit his banking job and spend the next five years as Gen’s primary caregiver in her recovery.
“Denny is one of my heroes,” says Ron.
By 1995 Gen had made enough of a recovery and Denny had been out of the workforce long enough that he felt the itch to start something … and the Cheers Sports sporting goods store was born.
The time was right … a long-time sports store called the Sports Spot on Route 7 near Dranesville Road had closed and the owner’s son, Greg Johnson, went in with Petrella to open Cheers.
It may have started as a hobby as sorts at first, but it quickly became a daily job and Cheers soon grew. Moving locations in Sterling and then to its current location in Ashburn.
Now Cheers has been serving the community for a dozen years and they have six fulltime employees, including Denny’s younger brother Joe. Expansion is even coming again as the newest Cheers will open in November in Leesburg.
It was during the second year of business, when the store changed locations in Sterling to a store on Church Road, that Denny realized that they had found a real niche in a county that was quickly taking off on its major population growth spurt.
When Cheers opened, there were just four high schools in the county, same as there had been 20 years earlier, but today the store serves 10 high schools and four more are on the planning board.
After all the years of her comeback, Gen and Denny felt they were finally ready to start a family.
“We were in our 20s when the accident happened and now we were in our 40s and decided to take a chance,” said Denny.
In April 2006 they got the joyous news that Gen was expecting. The pregnancy was going fine when Denny and Gen asked for a sonogram at 28 weeks just as a precaution. The doctors didn’t think anything was wrong but they went ahead with the sonogram and they found that Gen had pre-eclampsia, the condition prior to eclampsia which can be fatal to both mother and fetus.
“The doctor’s said basically ‘you are losing your baby’,” recalled Denny.
Gen was put in the hospital immediately and the doctors hoped she could carry Joe for at least three more weeks but four days later she was in emergency surgery and Joe was born on Oct. 28, 2006. His due date had been Jan. 17, 2007.
“I was more afraid for her. I could have easily lost both of them,” said Denny.
When Joe did come he was 12 inches long.
“He was the smallest thing I have ever seen in my life,” said Denny.
Any baby born prior to the 37th week is considered a “preemie” and Joe still had nine weeks to go to hit that mark. His skin was transparent and Denny was able to slip his wedding band on Joe’s arm with room to spare.
And here was Denny again, with the vigil in the hospital and the support group of friends and family and that positive spirit.
“It was like reliving Gen’s accident all over again,” said Denny who looked on the bright side. “I could handle and process everything they told me.”
Denny knows in his heart why Joe survived when the odds were against him.
“He is his mother’s son. He fought. He had a tremendous will to live. He got through his hospital stay just like his mother did by getting further along than anybody expected. It was miraculous,” said Denny. “At the NICU at Fairfax Hospital they have a lot of miracle babies.”
Joe was a fighter all right. He was incubated for six hours instead of a week like the doctor’s thought because he simply knocked his tube out.
Soon “Team Joe” was born as everybody got behind the little guy with a will to survive.
Denny brought some 200 t-shirts to the hospital and soon doctors, nurses and all kinds of specialists were sporting the hottest NICU fashion trend … the Team Joe shirt.
“Quite frankly he was so cute that all the nurses fell in love with him,” said Denny with the pride that only a father can muster.
By Feb. 8, 2007 Joe was doing well enough to come home without a monitor which rarely happens with preemies. Just the month before Joe had developed an intestinal infection and he had to fight through that with three weeks in isolation.
Denny’s mom, who lives next door to the new family, led the charge in helping mother and baby.
“We have a great network of family and friends,” said Denny.
There were no first-time daddy nerves for Denny when Joe arrived home as he had just had 104 days of the best training you could get.
“I was trained by those nurses. I had no questions of what to do as I had been watching and listening to them. For 104 days I got daddy training,” said Denny with a laugh.
When it was all said and done and Joe had his nine-month check-up (which should have been his six month check-up) there was not one problem found. It is clearly unusual for a baby born so earlier to not have any lingering conditions – for example when born, Joe had a hole in his heart, which is not unusual, but that closed on its own --- Joe is your typical healthy baby boy. And he weighed an incredible 14 pounds!
And to add to the joy in the Petrella household, Gen has done a fantastic job with Joe.
“She has far exceeded our wildest dreams. She has been an incredible mother,” said Denny.
It is quiet in Denny’s office at Cheers as he contemplates the entire saga. How can you put that into perspective when all you have is words.
“The whole thing has been a miracle,” said Denny quietly.
At this point, I may still be taking notes on my yellow legal pad in Denny’s office, but I’m actually thinking of my two sons and my wife. Would the boys find it strange if I drove to their school right then and there, and just gave them one of those hugs in which you try as a parent to convey the feeling to them that you never want to let go of them, even though you know you have to.
For Denny, simply hugging those NICU nurses and doctors was not enough. He organized the golf tournament as a way of giving back.
“I thought how am I going to say thank you to those people because they saved his life,” said Denny.
So there was Joseph Michael – named for his grandfathers – running around the golf course as Team Joe raised the $25,000 last week. And there was Joe and Gen together … Denny’s two fighters … truly two miracles. |
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| Posted by: Christine |
| Posted at: Tue, Oct 23, 2007 - 06:40:49 |
Too awesome for words!!! I am SO THRILLED for you!! I can understand how scary it must be - just reading everything you have to learn before Sunday is overwhelming - but I am sure the joy in your hearts is HUGE.
Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations! It is going to feel so good on Monday morning to not have to drive to the hospital to see Bennett...he'll be right there in your arms at home where he belongs. xoxo |
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| Posted by: Jerry and Dana Mayes |
| Posted at: Tue, Oct 23, 2007 - 06:14:18 |
| We are so happy for your sweet family. We have been praying for you and know that God has truly blessed you. Good luck on Sunday and welcome home baby bennett!! |
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| Posted by: Jennifer and Ben |
| Posted at: Tue, Oct 23, 2007 - 04:01:21 |
What incredible news!! We know that you and your family have been waiting to hear these words for so long and we are rejoicing with you! We will pray for Bennett's complete healing, for a smooth transition home and for continued support and strength for his amazing parents.
Love, Jennifer and Ben |
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| Posted by: Colleen and Phil |
| Posted at: Tue, Oct 23, 2007 - 02:28:02 |
Praise God in all His Glory! Tears of Joy are flowing down my face as we rejoice with y'all for the joy of bringing home your beautiful son this Sunday  I think it is awesome that he is coming home on the Lord's Day !
I hope sweet Bennett enjoyed seeing the sun shine from his window and I know he is ready to hear the birds sing. I am sure Bennett is excited for y'all's sleep over on Friday and we know there is going to be lots of snuggling and rocking. We are praying hard for a smooth transition home, for Bennett's complete healing and his strength and good health, and for y'all's strengthen and wisdom. We are praying for y'all as you learn how to take care of your adorable son and for y'all's meeting this Wednesday.
A new journey is about to begin and we will continue to pray and praise God. Praise God for the miracle of Sweet Bennett and for the incredible faithfulness of his parents and their beautiful son. We love all three of y'all so much! |
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| Posted by: Judy Hair |
| Posted at: Mon, Oct 22, 2007 - 20:37:32 |
Travis, Kelly, and sweet Bennett...
I've continued to monitor and pray for sweet Bennett from the moment I heard about him. As the chill bumps went over my body at the news of his upcoming "homegoing" on Sunday I too was humbled and full of praise to our Heavenly Father for His personal touch on Bennett's life.
Precious Father in Heaven, words are not enough to express our gratitude at Your handywork. Your mercy and grace in this young man's life has taught us all the power of prayer, faith, and persistence. Thank You, in the precious name of Jesus for loving us and answering prayer. Father continue to bless and amaze this family with the "ministry of witness" this sweet child has of Your love and awesome power. Thank You, Father, we glorify You! Amen. |
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| Posted by: Amanda Kilgore |
| Posted at: Mon, Oct 22, 2007 - 19:10:47 |
| Oh sweet Bennett! What a strong boy you are! I praise God every time I read your Mommy and Daddy's blog for the day. I love your spirit and willingness to fight, and we are still thanking and praising God for all He has done! We can't wait to hear the discharge date! Eat up, eat up, little one. |
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| Posted by: Kathy Forrest |
| Posted at: Mon, Oct 22, 2007 - 14:47:01 |
Praise God for His marvelous blessings!! Bennett looks so beautiful...uh, handsome, that is! We continue to pray for him. I am anxious to share this news with the Tuesday morning Ladies' Bible Study at Brooks. We will pray for you there as well!
Much love,
Kathy |
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